Dredging of Zeekoevlei in False Bay Nature Reserve

Dredging of Zeekoevlei within the False Bay Nature Reserve, Cape Town

The City of Cape Town is undertaking the dredging of the Zeekoevlei, removing organic sediments that have accumulated in the vlei as a result of long-term sewage contamination, inputs from polluted urban stormwater runoff, and agricultural drainage. The sediments are concentrated in two areas of the lake, namely Home Bay (in the western part of the vlei north of the Peninsula) and in Stormy Bay (making up the southern part of the vlei). The material is to be dewatered and stored in the medium to long term in a disused maturation pond (Pond 53) at the Cape Flats Wastewater Treatment Works (CFWWTW). The dredged material will be pumped through a slurry pipeline to Pond S3, where excess water will be removed, and the material will be left to passively dry. The excess water will be pumped back to the CFWWTW for treatment prior to release into False Bay.

The project received environmental authorisation in terms of section 24 of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998, and the EIA Regulations, 2014 (as amended). Work commenced on the site in March 2025, and is currently regularly monitored in terms of an approved Environmental Management Programme by an Environmental Control Officer (Infinity Environmental).

A condition of the Environmental Authorisation is that compliance with the environmental management plan must also be periodically audited.

Dredging started on 30 June 2025, and the first audit report, compiled by an independent environmental auditor, was submitted to the competent authority in October 2025. The second audit was conducted in April 2026, six months after the first audit as per the Environmental Management Programme and was submitted to the competent authority in July 2026.

In line with the requirements of the EIA Regulations, the audit report is being made available to registered interested and affected parties (I&APs). You may access the report, and the environmental authorisation, at the link below. The findings of the audit in respect of the timing of shoreline dredging will be separately addressed through an amendment of the environmental management programme, as the shoreline dredging programme was initiated after the external audit took place in April 2026.

  folder 2026-07 Zeekoevlei Dredging External Audit

For any queries or concerns, please contact the Environmental Control Officer at the details below.

Jeremy Rose or Tom Smyth

Infinity Environmental

021 834 1600

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